Elizabeth Miranda Persons has not always lived a life of servitude. But when her father was put to death by the order of the very queen she is named for and her mother died soon after from the plague, Elizabeth found herself without means to survive.

William Strachey is not his real name but that is what most of the people aboard the ship Sea Venture know him as. Continuously writing, it is thought he writes his daily thoughts and not a play that later becomes quite famous.

Thomas Powell is the ship’s cook. He is a broad-shouldered, strong man who loves creating his dishes.

When a horrendous hurricane strands the crew upon the infamous Bermudas, all must come together to survive. Elizabeth finds she can reinvent herself into Miranda, a girl who may still serve the crotchety old woman who has taken her in, but she can also cook sensational food fit for a king. William continues to scribe the daily activity upon the islands, knowing that no imagination could think up the danger and intrigue that their lives take on. Thomas begins to take a shine to Elizabeth-Miranda and soon finds ways to woo her into loving him as he has come to love her. But in a world where everyone must come together or perish, there are those who want to thwart society’s bindings and try their best to mutiny against those who seem to uphold the law.

The Gentleman Poet is a fascinating tale that shows many different lives through the eyes of a girl who becomes a woman as she struggles through one tragedy after another. We get a chance to see what William Shakespeare may have been like through Ms. Johnson’s talented writings; the emotional up and downs, the moodiness, the continuous writing that makes him one of the most well-known playwrights of our time. Throw in the dangerous situations, the circumstances that has Elizabeth-Miranda going from a simple servant girl to a cook who makes succulent dishes, the mutinous feelings between the people with power and those who feel they have the right to be on their own, the tragedy that seems to befall many, and the romance that blooms between different couples and you to will find you have fallen in love with this novel. I could not put this book down, continuously reading until the very last page even at the times when I was saddened by the heartache and tragedy that struck those within the pages. What a wonderful gift Kathryn Johnson has given us by writing The Gentleman Poet; I for one will treasure it always.